Election-booth



(No Model.)

J. JONES. ELECTION BOOTH.

No. 481,571. Patented Aug. 30, 1892.

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JACKSON JONES, OF JEFFERSON, WISCONSIN.

ELECTION-BOOTH.

SPECIFICATION formingpart Of Letters Patent No. 481,571, dated August 30, 1892.

Application filed September 28, 1891. Serial No. 407,020. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JACKSON JONES, of J efferson, in the county of Jefferson and State of Wisconsin, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Election-Booths, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which are a part of this specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a shelf and a series of compartments for use at an election-booth, which device is collapsible and portable.

In several of the States the law requires that a suitable shelf and space shall be provided, properly screened from public observation, at and in which a voter may prepare his ballot for voting unobserved by any other person. As elections occur only once or twice a year and are usually held in town-halls or school-houses or other places where no such permanent conveniences exist, it is desirable to have devices that are portable, adapted to comply with the law where such laws exist and for the convenience and satisfaction of voters in other places.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of my device standing against a wall of a room. Fig. 2 is a view of the same device when folded together compactly for transportation.

A is a wall of a room, against which it is intended my device shall be erected. \Vhen a wall is not readily accessible, a temporary back or curtain may be hung at the rear of my device to screen the occupants of the co 1npartments from observation in that direction. A table or shelf B is provided with hinged and inwardly-swinging legs G C, which are temporarily held extended in proper position to support the table or shelf by the detachable braces D D. lhe table or shelf B may be of any length and width desired; but for convenience in handling it is advisedly made sufficiently long to aiford a longitudinal space of about two feet to each compartment, and if, as in the drawings, there are three compartments to each shelf it would be about six feet long. The device shown in Fig. 1 is a desirable form for the purpose intended. In the device shown the end walls E E are hinged to the upper surface of the table at its longitudinal extremities in such manner as to be capable of being folded inwardly down upon the top surface of the shelf or table B. These walls E E are substantially as wide as the shelf and of suflicient height to screen the occupant of a compartment at the shelf from the observation of the tallest man who might occupy an adjoining compartment or stall. To each of these walls E is hinged a door or wing F, so arranged that when the walls E are supported upright the wings may be and are swung forwardly into the plane of the wall, and is held in position by a button Gr, swiveled on the table and adapted to catch the wing F and prevent its folding back upon the wall E. The walls E are secured in upright position by braces H, connected detachably to the rear edges of the walls and to the rear edge of the table. Atasuitable distance from the walls E and advisedly about two feet therefrom are partition-walls I I, hinged to cleats K K, secured permanently to the shelf or table transversely thereof and substantially parallel with the axis of the folding walls E. These partition-walls I are practically of the same size as the walls E, and when upright are held in position by the braces L L, secured detachably to the rear edges of the partition-walls and to the rear edge of the table. Wings M M of substantially the same size as the partition-walls I are hinged thereto and are adapted when the partition-walls I are upright to be swung outwardly to the front, projecting in the plane of the partitionwalls I, and are temporarily held in this position by the buttons N N, swiveled on the cleats K. WVhen set up in this form, as shown in Fig. 1, three compartments are formed, into any one of which between the wings F and M or M and M a voter may stand and examine and prepare his ballot on the shelf or table B, screened from observation at the sides by the walls E or I and by the wall A or its equivalent curtain in front of him at the rear of the device. All of the compartments may be used at the same time by different persons. Each device may be constructed with such number of compartments as is desirable and any number of the devices required may be used at an election-booth or polling-place.

When the device is to be packed for removal and transportation, the braces D, H, and L are detached, the wings F and M are ICO folded on their respective walls, and the walls (the end ones first) are folded to the table. The legs are then folded against the under side of the table and the braces are packed against the under su rface of the table between the legs. In this manner the device is put in the compact form shown in Fig. 2, and in such form is convenient for transportation and for storing away until required for further use.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The portable-compartment device for election purposes, consisting of a suitably-supported shelf or table, walls hinged thereto capable of being unfolded upright thereon,-

wings hinged to the walls capable of being swung forwardly and projecting therefrom in a plane therewith, and means for securing the wings in place and the end walls upright temporarily, substantially as described.

2. In a compartment device for election purposes, the combination, with a shelf, of walls hinged to the upper portion of the shelf, so as to fold thereon and to open uprightly, wings hinged to the walls, so as to swing forwardly therefrom to the plane of the walls, and detachable braces adapted to engage temporarily the rear edges of the walls and the rear edge of the table or shelf, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with a shelf or table and folding walls hinged thereto at distances apart and capable of being folded thereon and open uprightly thereto, of folding legs hinged to the under part of the table or shelf and braces adapted to be temporarily secured to the legs and to the table, substantially as described.

4. The combination, with a table or shelf having folding walls hinged to the upper surface thereof at a distance apart and means for securing the walls in position when unfolded from the table, of a wall or curtain at the rear of the table, the folding walls when opened forming with the table and rear wall or curtain a compartment hidden from observation, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JACKSON JONES.

Witnesses:

O. T. BENEDICT, ANNA V. FAUST. 

